NBCU ad sales chief Linda Yaccarino gets the profile treatment in The New York Times. Despite the momentum behind ad-free content like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, she says “everyone agrees that advertising-supported content needs to remain the main driver or the epicenter of the business.” Those streaming services still rely on ad-supported content, and a shift to 100% original content “would be absolutely unaffordable” for the subscription rate. Yaccarino brought Fox Networks head of ad sales Joe Marchese to speak at an internal event earlier this year, a sign of how frustrations with new media platforms “have cast old rivalries in a new light.” In an age of Facebook and Netflix, TV nets like NBC and Fox can be rivals and still on the same team. More.

Very Hungry Caterpillar

Accenture Interactive has a seemingly insatiable appetite for agency capabilities. The digital agency arm of the management consultancy acquired ecommerce solutions provider Media Hive on Monday, its 13th agency acquisition in the past five years. Media Hive touts expertise in cross-channel commerce strategy, app development and cross-channel retail experiences. “We will bring together Accenture Interactive’s omni-channel marketing expertise and scale with Media Hive’s robust technical and retail expertise to drive the ultimate commerce experience for our clients,” said Glen Hartman, head of Accenture Interactive. Read the release.

Data Boost

Dentsu Aegis Network reported Q1 2017 earnings on Monday with roughly $2 billion in revenue and gross profit growth of almost 18%. Fifty-five percent of revenue is now digital, CEO Toshihiro Yamamoto said on the call. And Merkle, which the group acquired in August [AdExchanger coverage], is already bringing in significant revenue. “Total performance was driven by good organic gross profit growth and a strong contribution from recent acquisitions, particularly Merkle.” Read the release.